Assumptions
by Mtn Cousin
Summary: A Valentine's Day fic for all of those thwarted in love.  This piece of fluff and misdirection came to me and it wouldn't rest until it was revealed.


Assumptions

A/N: Assumptions, we all make them and at one time or another we have all suffered from the consequences of following them. I hope that you enjoy this little bit of silliness that came to me the other day. I still do not own Spooks, it's characters or other aspects. I cracked myself up writing about them though. Hope that you enjoy as well.

_Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in._

_**Alan Alda**_

* * *

><p>Harry leaned into the door of the brown brick building making his way quickly across the foyer to the stairs. After scaling the first flight he turned left and soon arrived before the proper austere door. Without knocking he stepped through into a comfortable waiting area appropriately fitted with leather chairs and stepped towards the receptionist's window. Giving his name he signed in and found a comfortable chair near a corner. As a spook he was always mindful of proper positioning in any venue. It was impossible to void the regimented behaviors that could save your life. He could say without looking the number of steps to the outside door and had already mapped out subconsciously other alternate routes.<p>

Looking around the room for a moment with the eyes of a mere citizen he appreciated the tasteful artwork and gentle classical music wafting around the room. This was definitely not what he had expected. In fact, if he hadn't seen the placard on the door he might have questioned if he was in the correct office. Well times were changing and for the right money you could have almost any care you desired.

The warring influences within him based on his own history affirmed a more meritocratic approach but fighting the good fight for all citizens of the realm for so many years had reinforced a more egalitarian view. He definitely did not believe in a system where might made right but he could see the benefits of recognizing and rewarding those with greater skills. The services acknowledged such beliefs while still nodding towards the ideas that all should be given equal opportunities.

Thoughts like these plagued him as he argued that his time and his position mandated that certain benefits must be enjoyed as part of his greater share of responsibility.

Interrupting these thoughts his attention was suddenly caught by the young woman in medical scrubs who had appeared at the inner doorway. "Mr. Pearce, you may come through."

Harry nodded and followed her in. The inner offices were equally well apportioned and the room to which he was directed could only be described as more than comfortable. Taking a seat against one wall he took a moment to breathe deeply and relax. Days such as these without imminent disasters were few and should be appreciated. Perhaps later if he could work up the courage he would ask Ruth out for that missed drink she had asked him to or perhaps even for a walk along the river. Beautiful days needed to be enjoyed and her recent careful attentions had not been missed by him. Ruth was a complex creature with layer upon layer of mystery and subtlety. Just when he was sure of her feelings he was knocked down by her aloofness or his confidence shaken by her bloody sense of propriety. The helter skelter woman who had stepped onto that barge three years ago had been easier to read. She was just as brilliant but when her eyes shown and she argued with him he knew that he would with time be able to tame her fears. This new Ruth was more careful and somewhat more deliberate in her actions, no doubt unconsciously shaped by the pain of loss of so many.

**Back on the Grid**

"Tariq, how goes the surveillance? Any good bites on the line, mate? I pity you having to sit on this. We may never have anything come from it."

Tariq looked up at Dimitri with a pleading expression. It was clear that he wanted to be anywhere but there. In fact, he had wanted the same thing for two days. He wanted Ros to take him off the mundane surveillance of this private consultant. For the entire time he had heard nothing more exciting than a discussion of several men's private lives which he could have definitely lived without. Before this all started Ros had assured him that this assignment was temporary and that soon this operation should bear fruit. Waiting for agents of the multi-national terrorist organization, New Light for the Future, to visit the esteemed Dr. Pierre Thomas was proving exhausting. The urologist was suspected to be aiding the group in passing funds and messages to foreign nationals but as of yet his method had not been discovered. After a particularly pointless day spent trying to decipher the garbled feed from the previous bugs Tariq had sent a team overnight to remove them. Unfortunately the ones they had brought had been equally defective and so had been removed as well. Then a separate team had had to return and place new bugs which for the moment were working but were spotty. Something operating in the building would intermittently cause the feed to drop. Tariq had already made note of this and contacted the team who would have to replace them after hours.

"Mr. Pearce, you may come through."

Tariq stood up and took note at this. Surely there were hundreds of other Mr. Pearces throughout the greater London area. Despite this he turned from his desk to look through Harry's window and was surprised to note it was empty. Still maybe this was not Harry as he could be off at anyone of a dozen places including meeting with the Home Secretary or the JIC. Sometimes he was called away and didn't have time to notify his team. Still Tariq was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

Hearing a door open and close Tariq knew that someone had entered the room. Due to poor quality of the feed he couldn't make out the individual speaking. It could be Dr. Thomas but he wasn't sure.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Thomas. Your regular doctor sent over the records as requested and I reviewed them this morning."

Just as he was about to discuss the previous reports the mic went out again. Tariq silently cursed the poor technicians who had installed these mics.

"I appreciate your seeing me on such short notice. My work precludes regular scheduled appointments which my regular doctor has been considerate enough to work around."

Tariq's jaw dropped as he clearly was able to make out through the distortion the unmistakable voice of Sir Harry Pearce, Head of Section D. Tariq began to feel more than a little awkward and began to debate if he should turn off the audio recordings. Frantically he looked around the Grid and spotted two heads nestled together going over a report.

"Hey, you two, come over, I think I may need some help."

Tariq nearly fell out of his seat when he saw that the head that popped up along with Dimitri's was none other than Ruth's. This was definitely not working out for him. All he could imagine was trying to explain to Harry how his undeclared love interest had been made aware of his personal medical issues. Tariq could already feel the heat of Harry's glare as the anticipated bollocking would commence.

"Dimitri, I may need your help over here. Ruth, that's alright I'm sure that you're busy."

To Tariq's great dismay Ruth assured him she was not busy as she had just concluded the day's threat assessment and would be happy to help. Tariq's adam's apple moved rapidly up and down as he wondered if he was going to be able to swallow normally in the future.

Dimitri and Ruth crowded around his station and asked him what was going on.

"Well… you see we may have accidentally… totally unplanned of course…"

Dimitri was beginning to get impatient and after listening to Tariq's blubbering finally cut through by saying," Out with it, mate. What's the problem?"

Tariq's gaze dropped and he said," I think you'll have to hear."

So saying, he put down his headphones and tapped a button and the feed changed to the speakers flanking his monitor. Over them could be heard Harry's voice speaking with Dr. Thomas.

"That's Harry!"

Ruth's helpful interjection was then followed with a furrowing of her brows as she turned towards Tariq. "Why do you have Harry under surveillance?"

Tariq almost jumped out of his seat at this. "I don't, honest. I'm just monitoring Dr. Thomas for Ros trying to break the New Light connection. Harry just walked in. He has to know that we are monitoring him."

Doctor Thomas then could be heard commanding," Well right up here on the table and let's have a look." Following this another loss of signal occurred.

"Isn't Dr. Thomas a urologist?" Ruth queried with a quizzical expression on her face.

Tariq's puppy dog flapping of his head said it all.

"Do you want me to turn off the mics?" Tariq was finally able to ask turning to Dimitri.

"Perhaps you should…"

"NO!…erm … I mean Harry would never want you to compromise an operation on his account. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this. Are you sure Harry wasn't supposed to be questioning Dr. Thomas?" Ruth looked extremely uncomfortable as she tried to reason this through.

"I don't think so, and if so why would he not use a legend. He's using his own name. That doesn't sound like Harry at all."

At this moment the feed cut back in and to the group's shock and dismay Dr. Thomas' next words were," Well there seems to be pretty good rectal tone, I don't see any sores or signs of rash around the testicles."

Ruth felt her heart stop and immediately turned away so the others didn't see her blush. This was horrible not only had they invaded Harry's privacy but what they were hearing was absolutely horrific. She was not sure if she would ever be able to face him again.

Again the feed went out and when it came back on the eyes of those around turned to each other in utter horror when Harry's next words were," I just want you to do something. It's a real problem that it sticks up like that. It never used to do that and now it's very frequent and it's quite painful. You can almost never predict when it will happen and it's even harder to predict when it will go down"

Dimitri was wildly fluctuating between the thought that he needed to stop this and like watching an accident the desire to press on.

Dr. Thomas could be heard asking," How often does something make the stiffness worse?"

"Not often, in fact, it mainly only happens around this one female."

"Tell me more about that one."

To everyone's dismay the feed again cut out. Both men turned with questioning looks at Ruth who wanted the floor of the Grid to open up and swallow her. She was sure whom he was referring to and the worst thing she could imagine had happened. Not only were Harry's personal feelings for her being affirmed to their colleagues but to the gossips' fires was being added petrol by the jug.

Turning away Ruth's hand came up to her mouth and she began to pace muttering," This is…awful. Why didn't we stop this before."

Dimitri stepped away from Tariq's desk and gently grabbed Ruth's shoulders from behind. Turning her he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "You were right. Harry would never have wanted an operation compromised on his own accord."

"But…but… what are we going to do?"

"We're all professionals and we will handle it as such."

Just at this moment the speakers crackled to life again.

"I think Mr. Pearce now that we have identified the problem there are several steps you can take. One option is to avoid the female completely."

At this Ruth couldn't help but gasp. Her shock and horror were clear on her face and again her hand flew to her mouth.

"I am not sure that is probable or desirable. I think there is a real attraction there."

At this Ruth's eyes softened and small glints of moisture appeared at the corners of her eyes.

"Well then the only option would be for you to try this medication. It is a little blue pill which can be conveniently administered thirty minutes before exposure."

Tariq nearly choked as he began coughing uncontrollably and finally had to stand and walk off his surprise while regaining his breath. His face had turned beet root red and seemed destined to remain that way. At this moment he was wondering whether he should already be making his flight arrangements for his transfer to the polar ice caps or whether Harry would air freight him there in small pieces. Either way he knew that he was both dead and finished in his current capacity.

His planning had to be put on hold for a moment when Harry piped up.

"Dr. Thomas, I was wondering if you could give me an idea of the prognosis based on your analysis."

Without missing a beat Dr. Thomas returned,"Six months, twelve months tops."

Harry's dismay was evident as he replied," Thank you for your candor. That will help me in making some decisions I had considered."

"Well Mr. Pearce, I am sorry there wasn't more that I could do but do try that medication and if it is successful then I would recommend you use it daily. The bottom line is that with such a short time left that there shouldn't be any missed opportunities."

"Of course."

With that Harry could be heard leaving and his three officers were left to deal with the mess that these revelations had wrought.

" I think that we are all agreed that we never speak of this." Dimitri asked as his gaze panned the other officers.

Tariq mumbled absently," Of course" and nodded.

Ruth's eyes were no longer misting but tears were streaming down her face. Unable to speak she fiercely nodded her head and then turned to escape to the loo. Before she could step away Ros came through the pods and approached the group.

"What the devil has happened to you lot?"

Ruth let out a small cry and then ran away from the group to find seclusion.

"Sometimes I wonder" As she said this Ros rolled her eyes and was ready to step away when she saw the glazed expressions on Dimitri and Tariq's faces. "Alright, out with it. What's she wound up about?"

"Ros… I don't know if this is really appropriate…"

"Well, sailor boy, you better make it appropriate and sharpish."

After a few tense moments Dimitri related the salient details of their witnessed conversation to Ros.

Finding it all a bit much to take in but not wanting to lose her composure in front of her officers she gave them a curt nod and walked towards the loo herself. Her face was tight and her mouth pulled into a thin slit. Racing through her mind were all of the times when Harry had had her back and wondering where she would have been there today without his help. He was as much of a father to her as her own had been. She couldn't even imagine their work without him.

Slowly she approached the loo and gently laid her hand on the door and paused. She didn't do emotion, she didn't even want to. That being acknowledged she needed to speak with Ruth and show her she needed to pull herself together, if only for Harry's sake. It would be necessary that they all maintain their composure in order to give Harry the proper dignity he deserved.

Strengthening her resolve she pushed the door forward and walked into the room. She could already hear the soft weeping from Ruth coming from behind the furthest stall. Ros hesitated only for a moment before walking up to the door and gently rapping on it.

"Ruth, I know. I need to talk to you."

After several moments of continued crying with the sound of Ruth clearing her nose and trying to right herself, the door slowly opened and Ruth stepped out. Her head was bowed and she didn't fully turn towards Ros.

"Ruth, you need to get yourself together.

oooOooo

Harry drove at a reasonable pace back to his place. As he did so his hand stroked the purring cat sitting on the passenger seat. Shame, he thought, Fidget had been his favorite. After Ruth was forced to leave, Harry had gone and adopted her cats. Fidget and Patch had grown on him. Always considering himself a dog man he was surprised by how taken he had been with these two furrballs. Some nights while Harry was lost in thoughts of Ruth, Fidget would approach his chair and with a knowing glance, would stop, sit and just ponder him. After a bit Harry would reach down and lift the cat onto his lap and then break down and talk to the blooming cat. After a while their habit became well established and Fidget would even be waiting for him at the base of his chair when he entered the room. Knowing that Fidget was dying and had less than a year to live changed his plans. He had been planning to talk to Ruth about the return of her cats. He hated to see them go but she really deserved this part of her old life back. He had just been minding it for her.

Lately it had been so troublesome seeing Fidget in pain. Now Fidget's tail would often stay stuck straight up in the air at a most unnatural angle. It was also evident that it was quite painful as Fidget would often rush quickly throughout the rooms howling. He had really hoped that their regular vet Dr. Harrison could address this but he had taken one look and referred Fidget up the chain. Harry hadn't even known that Veterinary Urologists existed. Well he supposed felines and canines had those kind of problems too. It was as a result of Dr. Harrison's previous scans that they found the tumor that was causing the pain and leading to the tail dysfunction. Harry would fill the script and hopefully that little blue pill would do the difference. Harry had noted Patch's presence seemed to make the problem worse for Fidget. Dr. Harrison thought that might be related to her female feline hormones.

After dropping Fidget off at his house, Harry rushed to get back to the office. He would never confess to a soul that he had spent a morning taking a cat around to the vet. He would die of shame before letting anyone know that.

As Harry stepped through the pod doors every eye on the grid was ratcheted to his presence. Then immediately after that all eyes dropped and an amazing amount of work seemed to be done. Harry was glad to see that his presence still commanded that kind of duty. Stepping easily across the Grid he stepped into his office and slid the door shut. Pacing around the room he began to consider his options for telling Ruth about Fidget. It had to be done but how he was going to do it, he had no idea.

"I could… ask her out for a drink, then mention how well she looked, then just kind of slip it into conversation. Ruth, you know how well things have been going lately. I think that you are adjusting as well as can be expected. There is something I need to tell you."

As Harry finished his pacing and musings he looked up and saw the very blue eyes he was imagining starring back at him from his office door. He could tell that she had been crying. Immediately he stepped towards her and motioned for her to come into the office. As she did so he slowly closed the door behind her.

Gently he turned her to face him and asked," Ruth, whatever is the matter."

"Harry, nothing, absolutely nothing is the matter; everything is bloody fine."

Her tone sounded edgy and Harry could clearly see that everything was not fine.

"Um… I know that things aren't often easy between us but you should know that you can talk to me about anything. I want to be here for you."

At this Harry's was disconcerted to see fresh tears streak down Ruth's face. It was obvious he was handling this all wrong and he didn't even know what was going on. This would never do. He knew he needed to get a handle on things.

"Ruth, I mean it. What's wrong?"

"Har..rr..y….I … know."

Harry's unsettled expression surprised Ruth and she was concerned that she was making him uncomfortable. In fact, Harry was thinking _Oh no, what has she found out now. Bloody hell, Pearce! What is going on?_

"What do you know?" Harry said this slowly and deliberately hoping to read in her face some hint to guide him through his maze.

"I know about the six to twelve months." Ruth said quietly and almost in defeat. She couldn't bring herself to look up into his eyes knowing the pain that she would see there.

Harry also looked down and with significant gravity and said," How did you find out? I have wanted to talk to you about this for a while but just couldn't find the words."

"Oh Harry, it doesn't matter how I know, just that I do."

"Of course"

Harry wanted desperately to take her into his arms and comfort her. He had no idea how she had discovered this. Maybe that posh Dr. Thomas had secretly called her behind his back. He would get to the bottom of this, but later, first he needed to be there for Ruth.

"I'm so sorry Ruth, I never wanted you to find out this way. I had hoped that I would be the one to tell you over a nice dinner and perhaps a walk. I wanted to break it to you gently."

At this Ruth couldn't help herself but rushed into his arms and tightly embraced him. The bewildered Harry slowly brought his arms around her and reveled in how good she felt. _Not the way that I had imagined this happening but I'm not going to complain._

After several minutes of her sobbing into his jacket she pulled away but kept her arms on his side and looked up into his eyes and said," I don't want to waste even a moment. If there is anything that I can do…"

Harry considered this but then remembered the devil of a time he had had giving Fidget his medicine when he had developed an infection around one eye after escaping and having it out with a local stray. He had eventually returned looking battered but victorious to the front steps and Harry had marched him down to the vet. For a week, he had had to prepare for battle twice a day shoving a pill down the unwilling feline's throat. It had worked out but he did not relish a repeat of the scenes.

Harry started slowly, "Well, everything considered it would be a great favor if you could help me out with this medication the doctor gave me today."

Ruth blushed furiously but didn't drop her gaze. If Harry was dying and he wanted to be with her then that was what would happen. This wasn't quite how she imagined them discussing it, but he was right to approach such a sensitive matter directly.

She finally found her voice and said, "Your place or mine?"

"Well I really think mine is the right choice as everything is already there."

Ruth didn't know what _everything_ entailed but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she steeled herself and replied, "You're right…of course it should be your place. When should we …?"

"Oh the doctor said that it should be done daily in order to help alleviate the symptoms. It can be quite painful you see."

Ruth tried to suppress her shock and dismay. She wasn't sure what she was signing on for. She really wanted him but this really was a bit much. He almost sounded clinical the way he was approaching it. She sincerely hoped that his lovemaking was a little more sensitive than that. Well if not then she would have to teach him. This brought a smile to her face which lit up in front of Harry.

Gently taking his curved finger and running it along the side of her face he said with a husky voice," You really are so beautiful, Miss Evershed."

"Why thank you, Mr. Pearce. You are not so bad yourself."

As she said this Harry again drew her into his warm embrace. He didn't know what had led them here but he wasn't going to lose a moment of this opportunity. He didn't care who knew it but he was sensitive to Ruth's feelings and drawing way said, "Aren't you worried that the others will see?"

"Does it really matter what they think Harry? With so little time shouldn't we just be bold?"

Harry didn't necessarily like the sounds of that. He fully intended to be around fighting for quite a bit longer but after considering their significant age difference he had to acknowledge the truth of her words. In fact, it could be with their jobs that their days could be numbered. Why shouldn't they seize the day?

After a while he murmured into her ear," Ruth, we should probably consider making some plans for the burial?"

"I always supposed that you would be very traditional and want a coffin with graveside service."

Harry felt this was a bit over the top but then this was Ruth." Well maybe just a small group of friends and we could use my backyard. I am not sure about a coffin but perhaps we could make something."

"MAKE SOMETHING! Are you daft Harry Pearce, I am not burying you in your backyard and we are certainly not making your coffin. What has gotten into you?"

Harry stepped back as if a sudden shock had hit him. Confusion began to cloud everything and he wanted desperately to grasp onto reality. "What do you mean burying me? I'm not dying. What are you going on about?"

Ruth finally found the courage to speak," Well you see Harry, I know about your meeting with Dr. Thomas today."

"That smarmy little git, he called you didn't he?"

"No Harry it was by accident. You see we were monitoring Dr. Thomas for the New Light investigation. You can understand how dismayed Tariq was when he found out you had been entrapped by our surveillance. He immediately notified Dimitri and me and asked if he should discontinue surveillance. To my great regret I said no as I imagined you would not want to interrupt an active investigation. So you see really I am responsible for all of this. Well we heard everything that Dr. Thomas told you. Well, no, not everything it was a spotty connection. We plan to replace the bugs to the office later in the day. Something in that building is disrupting the signals with each set we put in."

Harry's face became grave as he began to piece together what had happened. Looking into Ruth's eyes he just needed her to confirm it for him. "So what exactly did you hear?"

"Enough"

"No Ruth, I want specifics"

"We heard that you have six to twelve months to live and that you are having a certain problem, one that can possibly be corrected with some medicine."

"And what problem is that Ruth?"

"You know what kind of problem it is, Harry? I am not bloody well going into detail it for you after you have just been propositioning me to help you with it on a daily basis!"

Harry couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. This really was too ridiculous but then this was Ruth and while absolutely brilliant she could sometimes be bonkers. What really hit him was that even with everything she thought she heard she had marched right in and agreed to help him with his "problem". At least she hadn't said his little problem.

At first he considered playing along to see where this would lead but then thought better of it. He could never intentionally play on Ruth's feelings. His own regarding her were too strong to allow this. No, he must set things right and if she pulled away from him then so bet it. She must know the truth.

Taking her by the shoulder he forced her to look at him. "Ruth, it's not what you think. I did go to see Dr. Thomas today but not for myself, it was for Fidget. He has been having some problems and Dr. Harrison thought that a urology consultant was in order. Dr. Thomas reviewed Dr. Harrison's findings and confirmed that Fidget doesn't have long to live and recommended a course of action to address a problem he is having with his tail. That is all that happened."

"Why would Dr. Thomas be willing to see a cat? He's a urology consultant, a human consultant."

"No, Dr. Charles Thomas is a veterinary urologist and despite beautiful rooms he does specialize in domestics, the furry kind."

"Oh no…Harry we all thought….it was so horrible and I was sure that you were going to die and I didn't know what to do." This brought a fresh torrent of tears and this time Harry knew exactly what to do. He tightly embraced her and brushing her hair with his lips he brought them down to her ear and comforted her by saying," Don't worry my love, you are going to have to deal with me for a while to come, possibly many years."

At that Ruth looked up into his eyes and through her tears softly asked him, "Well do we still need those little blue pills?" As she said this a mischievous grin covered her face. Harry was unsure whether to throw her out of his office or kiss her with abandon. He elected for the latter.

**Months later…**

"We stand here to remember a friend. He held a special place in many of our lives. In fact, he brought many of us together."

As these words were spoken there was a general nodding of heads around the solemn group. The wood coffin was laid into the ground and then shovels were used to cover the grave with the waiting soil.

After a few moments of silence Ruth looked up from her softly shed tears. She turned and tightened her grip on the warm hand to her side. Harry returned her squeeze and then brought her into his arms for a gentle embrace. After this she remembered the others and said," Everyone please go inside. We have some tea and biscuits for you. Please feel free to stay and visit."

As she said this she looked down at her hand and admired the new sapphire engagement ring nestled on her ring finger. She never tired of looking at it. Even amidst the craziness of the Grid she would sometimes pause and enjoy it and then look up and often catch someone watching her from inside that glass office. She wouldn't have chosen any other life. After much reflection she was sorry to see Fidget go but realized how much his death had brought her and Harry together. He had really done more for their relationship then she had thought possible. Then Ruth smirked and thought, "Well and thank goodness we didn't need those little blue pills after all!"

**A/N: I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It really was too much fun. I catch myself having a good laugh even on review. It was particularly fun as I had never written a humorous piece before. If you found this even a little entertaining please drop a review to let me know.**


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